SEATTLE — The Archdiocese of Seattle received more than 3,000 pages of feedback from more than 700 input sessions and 800 online responses during its Partners in the Gospel public consultation phase, the archdiocese announced Thursday.

“I am incredibly grateful for the input we received — and humbled by the engagement from the people of God,” Archbishop Paul D. Etienne said. “Despite what some may think, we are truly listening.”

“Because of your input, proposed changes emerged for 25 parish families,” affecting 78 parishes and missions, the archbishop said.

The 3,000 pages of feedback about proposed parish families — groups of two or more parishes that will fall under the leadership of one pastor and one or more parochial vicars — were “read by dozens of Chancery staff and Partners in the Gospel team members, who, working in teams, spent more than 200 hours reviewing and synthesizing common themes and specific input from the parishes within the draft family,” the archdiocese said in a news release.

On Thursday, the archdiocese published those summaries — and “concrete suggested changes” — in a Parish Family Feedback Report.

“The proposed parish families are in no way ‘a done deal.’ In fact, the opposite is true,” Archbishop Etienne said in a letter accompanying the report.

The archdiocese said the 78 parishes and missions in the 25 families affected by the proposed changes will be invited to host a second round of consultation with staff and parishioners to gather input on the new changes before a final recommendation is submitted to Archbishop Etienne for his discernment.

Final parish families will be announced in early 2024 and will officially form on July 1, 2024, the archdiocese said. Families will have roughly three years to determine their plan for becoming one canonical parish. It is during this period that local discernment will take place on major decisions like Mass times, building use, outreach, new ministries, and other topics.

These changes are part of the archdiocese’s Partners in the Gospel strategic pastoral planning initiative.

“The goal of Partners in the Gospel is to engage more people in their faith life, strengthen local communities of faith and help Catholic parishes advance their mission of bringing the Gospel to everyone,” the archdiocese says in its Partners in the Gospel materials.

Common themes in the feedback report

According to the archdiocese, several common themes emerged from the recent consultation with parishioners and staff:

  • They love the Catholic Church, their parishes, their communities, and their priests.
  • They want to spread the faith, fill the pews, focus on youth and young families, and invite people into their parish communities.
  • Most broadly accept that the Partners in the Gospel renewal effort is needed and expressed a willingness to help make it work.
  • Many are curious about what Partners in the Gospel will entail in the future, specifically asking logistical questions about how finances and staff will be shared, the impact on schools and the future of buildings.
  • There were many comments about the distance between parishes as a hardship, especially for elderly parishioners and priests.
  • People are worried about losing more parishioners due to these potential changes.
  • Many expressed a desire to keep Mass times the same.  
  • There is a desire to ensure the needs of multicultural, Spanish-speaking, Native American and small rural communities are addressed.
  • There is support for lay leaders to assume administrative and other pastoral responsibilities.
  • Some people felt this work is too drastic, while others felt it was not enough.

 You can read the complete Parish Family Feedback Report here.